What is keeping our volunteers busy these days?
As many people know, our volunteers are an enormous part of Rockport Music. Whether lending a hand as an usher, a docent, a concession worker, or one of the other integral roles, volunteers make up part of the backbone of the organization. Now with all this free time on their hands, we thought we’d ask some of them how they have been spending their days. Unsurprisingly, we found that our volunteers are indeed up to some fantastic new endeavors. Here’s a sampling:
Jean Woodbury
While sheltering in place, I’ve completed two children’s book manuscripts that I’d been working on. One, The Centipede’s Bite, is about a Filipino plantation community in Hawaii during the 1970s. The other, In the Path of an Elephant, is about South Vietnam’s last Minister of Defense and his son during the fall of Saigon.
Mary Catherine Kingsley
I have been walking in the woods…I reached out to Cape Ann Trail Stewards (CATS) and now will be walking the trails, reporting any blowdowns, rubbish, etc., and be ready to do some clearing, marking, or other maintenance in the fall. If all this goes well, I will be assigned my own trail to look after. I’ve also been learning how to assist a political campaign when you can’t knock on doors.
Peter H. Van Demark
One thing I am doing is delivering Meals on Wheels for SeniorCare on a route in Gloucester.
Cameron and Seymour Smith
We’ve been members of a film club for many years, so we’ve taken advantage Lindsay Greimann When schools closed I was worried about bored preschool grandchildren and their overwhelmed mothers. As a former preschool teacher, I started researching and then sending various “project boxes” – recipes for homemade play dough, instructions for making butterflies from coffee filters, and nature scavenger hunts. Though I have no sewing skills I have had fun making envelopes and stationery, painting rocks for a special spot in the garden (rabbits don’t eat rocks!), and playing with arts and crafts materials. Like many others, we’ve had plenty of interesting dinners as I’ve tried some of the countless clipped recipes I’ve collected over time. In these quieter days with little schedule, I have found plenty of ways to learn, stay active, and connect with others, but I have yet to find anything that fills me with the delight of sharing the music of a live concert with friends! It should be noted that, in addition to keeping busy with all these fabulous activities, many of our volunteers have let us know how much they have enjoyed the Concert View virtual music series, as well as our Virtual Gala event. We are looking forward to seeing these lovely folks when we return to the hall sometime in the (hopefully near) future! Return to E-NEWSLETTER Top Photo (left to right): Lindsay Greimann, Mary Catherine Kingsley, Jean Woodbury, Peter Van Demark
